Ratatouille
by Narwhale
Summary: Maya had always tried her hardest to impress the cynical chef, Chase, but her cooking skills were rather unimpressive. But she receives help from the most unlikely ally. Based off of the Pixar film with the same name. Animal Parade One shot.


I waited for the perfect opportunity, waited for the right moment to come out of the safety of my hole in the wall, my home that I have made in this odd house they called the Brass Bar. I've lived here for several months now, feeding off the scrapes of food left behind or other sorts of edible things I could scavenge. It was part of my daily schedule- that, and trying to avoid the bar owners, of course. They've seen me several times, but the slow-pokes could never catch me. Of course, my luck would run out sooner or later, and as the saying goes; 'expect the unexpected', and that applied to even myself, as I was in for the surprise of my life, and for the humans, as well.

The noisy hours in the bar settled down, signaling that it was near closing time, but I was unsure if anyone was still around or not. Regardless, I had to take the chance, as I had not eaten anything for 25 minutes now, the longest I've gone without eating, and I was starving. I sprinted out of cover and ran underneath the nearest table, slowly creeping under the shadows, checking every corner. I couldn't make out the presence of any human, but I waited a few moments before making sure it was clear. I sprinted towards the next table, waiting and checking, my ears and whiskers on high alert, before sprinting to the next one. I was soon across to the other side of the diner, where the kitchen was, my destination. It was a few more paces until I reached there, where hopefully there were still some leftovers. After the coast was clear, I made a break for it, barely making it to the door before hearing muffled voices behind it. I evaded to the left, hugging close to the wall just in the nick of time- the door swung open and the bar owner, known as Hayden, came out, followed by his daughter, Kathy. Fortunately, they did not see me behind them, but I was able to get a glimpse underneath the girl's skirt.

I quickly snuck into the kitchen unnoticed, and sighed a heavy relief. On the other side of the kitchen, I saw what I was looking for. The leftovers were stored on a platter on the lowest level of the tray cart near the sink. Various pieces of nibbled veggies, half eaten meat, peanuts and assorted almonds- a gold mine of food just laying there, begging for me to claim it. With no human in sight, I made my way towards the meal to come.

And then I heard a terrifying shriek.

"_AIYEE! RAT!_"

I flinched at the high pitched voice. I turned around in time to see a girl with short blonde hair with pig tails and blue eyes, wearing a pink dress. She had spotted me and grabbed a nearby broom, and I knew that she was ready to lay the smack down. I evaded left and ducked underneath a table, and sprinted inside a cupboard.

"Oh my goddess, it's inside the cupboard!" the pigtail girl shouted.

I lay quietly inside, waiting for her next move. Then, the girl stuck the broom inside, trying to flush me out. I quickly sprinted out and made a dash for the exit.

"It's going for the door!" she yelled.

I sprinted quickly, pacing myself as I was almost near the exit. And then, a shroud of darkness enveloped me as a large bowl ensnared me and swooped me up into a glass jar, the lid closing on top of me; I had been caught.

"You got it, Chase!" I heard the girl exclaimed.

My captor was the chef, the cynical human boy. Of all people, I had to be caught by the human that made me my food. I knew it wasn't going to end well for me. The boy didn't seem too happy at the girl, though, and I watched the two argue.

"Maya, you idiot!" Chase scolded. "How could you let this rodent get into _my _kitchen?!"

"B-but Chase, it wasn't my fault," Maya gloomily said. "I tried to stop it."

"Tried to. But you didn't," Chase continued. "Maya, how can I rely on you to work in here? You can barely cook, let alone keep this place clean. And now, there's rodents living here!"

From inside my glass prison, I could see the girl begin to sob. I almost began to pity her. Almost.

"This is ridiculous," Chase continued. "The one day I decide to let you work with me, and you screw it up. I should have known better. Now get rid of this thing before I get rid of you."

He shoved me into the girl's arms.

"But Chase-"

"_Now, _Maya!"

I saw the chef leave the kitchen, angrily slamming the door behind him. Maya put the jar onto the floor and began to sob uncontrollably. I was about to weep, too- but not for her, but because I knew she was going to end me. I could only imagine the horrible things the girl would do to me, whether it would be gassing me inside my glass prison or throwing me into a river, never to be seen again. I could do nothing except lean on the glass and stare at the girl, pleading for my life. The girl looked back at me, and then quickly turned her head away.

"Don't look at me like that!" Maya yelled at me. "This is your fault. If you hadn't shown up, none of this would have happened! I just wanted to impress Chase. I've always tried my best to cook well, to do everything that he wanted, but he never sees how hard I try. All he ever does is yell at me. And now you've made things worse, you stupid rat!"

I watched curiously as Maya leaned back against the cupboard, sighing to herself.

"Who am I kidding… I'll never learn how to cook. I'll never impress Chase. Even a simple cheese omelet that I made myself doesn't impress him. I used the right ingredients; cheese, rice, and fish. What am I doing wrong?"

I wasn't human, but even I knew the ingredients to making an omelet. It was no wonder why this girl was a failed cook. I tapped on the glass to get her attention. She looked at me as I shook my head in disapproval.

"What? You mean it's wrong?" Maya asked me. "But how can it be? It's a cheese omelet. It uses cheese, right?"

I nodded my head 'yes'.

"And it uses rice, too," Maya continued.

I shook my head 'no'.

"What do you mean no? It has to be. And fish gives it that buttery flavor."

Again, I shook my head 'no'. The girl had some serious issues about her ingredients.

"Well, then, what would you use?" She asked me.

I then pointed towards the refrigerator.

"You want me to take you there?" Maya asked.

Though I could not talk, the girl seemed to understand my body language. She picked up the jar and carried me to the fridge. She opened it and looked inside. I began to salivate as I stared at the enormous amount of food just sitting there before I realized that my life was still on the line.

"So, what are we looking for?" she asked me.

I then saw a stick of butter and pointed towards it. She picked it up and examined it.

"Butter, huh? What else?"

I pointed at a cart of eggs and she picked one up.

"Is there anything else?" she asked me.

I shook my head 'no'.

Maya looked at me skeptically. "So, how do you know all of this? You're just a rat."

I shrugged my shoulders, making hand gestures that I knew what I was doing.

"I suppose. But this is crazy. How would a rat know how to cook this, while I don't? This is beyond comprehension. But how do I know you're not lying?"

I then tapped the lid, signaling for her to let me out.

"If I let you out, will your promise to show me how to cook it?" She asked me.

I nodded my head 'yes'.

She was skeptical at first, but she began to slowly open the top and let me out onto the top counter.

"So, then, what would I do?"

I then began to show her the process of making a cheese omelet. Since I could not talk, I had to point to her to tell her what she could do. I also nodded my head 'yes' or 'no' when she asked a question to make sure she was doing things right. For a clumsy girl, she was a rather fast learner, and in no time, proceeded to make her first successful meal.

"Wow," Maya said in astonishment as she ate the omelet. "Did I make this? And did you really help me make this?"

I shrugged my shoulders, merely accepting her compliment. She savored the taste, enjoying the omelet, and then, I was shocked at what happened next; she began crying.

"Even if I learned how to do this, it still won't impress Chase. He'll never like me, or my cooking. I just want him to see, to actually know. I can never do anything right…"

I couldn't help but feel bad for the girl. I've always looked out for myself, never sympathizing for anyone, especially a human. Something about Maya changed my perspective, though. Everything was interrupted when the kitchen door opened. I saw Chase had entered and I quickly hid behind a dish rack.

"Maya, the kitchen is still dirty!" Chase yelled at her. "Why haven't you cleaned up yet? And why did you make an omelet?!"

"But, Chase," Maya sobbed.

"And did you get rid of that rodent?!"

Maya looked back at me to where I hid. I shook my head, trying to get her to understand me.

"Yes," Maya said. "I'm sorry, Chase-"

"Just get the kitchen cleaned, already," Chase scolded. "I've wasted enough of my time with you today."

Chase then stopped. He began sniffing the air and looked at the omelet.

"Is that smell coming from that?" he pointed. "Why does it smell so good?"

He then examined the food Maya and I had made.

"Did you make this?" Chase asked her.

"Y-yes," Maya stammered.

Chase scratched his chin. He then took a fork and took a small portion of the omelet and ate it. His expression was priceless.

"Maya," he began. "How did you cook this?"

Maya looked at me, and I nodded my head, giving her a thumbs up.

"I used butter, eggs, and cheese," she explained. "I cooked it with a frying pan and cooked it above average."

"A simple dish," Chase said. "And yet, I've never tasted it like this before. This is wonderful…"

I saw Maya smile, which had forced me to smile, as well.

"I'm sorry, Chase," Maya said to him. "I'll get back to cleaning-"

"Maya, I should be sorry," Chase interrupted. "All this time, I've been yelling at you, but I've only done this to make you improve yourself, but I think I've pushed you too hard. I'm sorry. But I've never doubted you once. And you've shown me that you are capable."

Maya smiled as she hid her blush. "That's all I've ever wanted to hear, Chase."

"And," Chase continued, but he began to stammer, "there's more. I've, uh, think that… you've done really well. And you do seem… when you work, you look… pretty? And I think I… like you?"

I nearly blew my cover as I held in my snickering. I could see both their expressions as they smiled at each other.

"I like you, too, Chase," Maya said, and began leaning closer to him.

They drew close to each other before I saw them perform the mouth-to-mouth action I believed the human's called a 'kiss'. The two were distracted and I saw this as a chance to escape. I broke cover and jumped down to the floor, sprinting towards the door and out of the kitchen, slipping by the two lovers unnoticed.

An hour had passed since I escaped back home. As I hid in my hole, I began to think to myself how I got myself into such a mess. I had helped a human girl learned how to cook and got her to be with the man that she liked- and I didn't even get any food in return. Though I was grateful to be alive, I was disgusted at myself for letting all of it happen to me, how I could help others in return for nothing. I knew I would get screwed over for helping.

And then I heard the girl's voice calling for someone.

"Little chef? Little chef."

I curiously peeked my head out to see who she was calling for. She carried a plate of food, looking around the Brass Bar.

"Little chef, I know you live here somewhere," she continued. "I would have thanked you, but you ran off. I hope you understand how much you have helped me. So, I'll leave this plate of food from the fridge right here for you. This little secret is between you and me, little chef. So thank you. See you, hopefully."

She then put the plate on the floor under a table near my hole before leaving. When all was quiet, I left my hole and inspected the glamorous food. I brought everything back and had myself a festive feast. As I ate, I thought about the human girl, about how I had helped her, and how fascinating she and the other humans were. I thought to myself that maybe they weren't so bad, and maybe helping others wasn't a bad thing after all.

_Fin. _


End file.
